Open partners with Will Smith on social commerce merch on Open SuperApp

Open announced a partnership between its social commerce Open SuperApp and actor and artist Will Smith.

Open SuperApp will serve as the exclusive merchandise platform for Smith’s 2025 world tour, starting with an intimate pop-up concert on December 11 and December 12 in San Diego, California.

Los Angeles-based Open raised $28 million last year to create a super app that combines
Open CEO Jaeson Ma said in an interview with GamesBeat that it integrates social commerce, messaging, creator community and artificial intelligence into an ad-free platform.

Smith’s first concert event, held at North Observatory Park in San Diego, includes exclusive hoodies, T-shirts and hats. Additionally, the Smiths World Tour merchandise website will be powered by Open. This technique can be reused by various creators and celebrities across various industries.

The collaboration launches a merchandise model that eliminates the need to reserve inventory and can be shipped globally through the Open SuperApp. Fans of the San Diego pop-up show will experience innovative marketing, with unique QR codes displayed around merchandise tables and on digital screens, directing them to the Open SuperApp online store where they can explore and purchase exclusive Will Smith tour items merchandise, allowing fans to purchase merchandise on-site and have it shipped directly to them.

“Our partnership with Will Smith exemplifies OPEN’s mission to empower creators to connect with each other
Engage with fans through innovative, seamless experiences. “By reimagining the merchandise model, we not only streamlined production but also created a platform that enhances the overall shopping experience.”

“Will is always looking for innovative ways to connect with his global fan base and provide an online store to celebrate it,” Kosaku Yada, CEO of Smith’s investment arm Westbrook and an early investor in Open, said in a statement. His physical goods.

Open SuperApp aims to introduce
A platform that removes traditional inventory and logistics barriers. By providing a global on-demand merchandise solution, Open makes it easy and convenient for artists like Will Smith to deliver premium, limited-edition products to their fans. The platform’s innovative approach allows artists to connect directly with fans, changing the way merchandise is conceived, produced and distributed globally.

Open enables creators to build their businesses, engage directly with fans, and maintain ownership of their data and brand, revolutionizing the creator economy by providing a complete set of tools in one user-friendly platform. Open’s recent collaborations include the launch of a lifestyle and apparel line launched by current University of Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, as well as merchandise collaborations with Coolman, a pop artist known for his surreal and humorously simple animations.

Ma explained that the company has developed a global supply chain and proprietary technology that allows it to forego the risk of purchasing inventory in advance.

Jack Ma said that the focus of this idea is social commerce, combining social media and e-commerce. This is an idea introduced by Jack Ma from Asia, where this kind of integrated social network and commerce is common.

When Open was founded in 2020, it was a company focused on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). To date, it has raised $38 million in two rounds of funding. The business side of business is not easy. Jack Ma said the company has connections with 10,000 manufacturers and can supply Open SuperApp as needed.

Open SuperApp is at the forefront of this collaboration, enabling rapid creation
Get quality products with simple tips. Their most advanced generation of artificial intelligence text into products
Technology not only simplifies production processes but also opens up new possibilities
Personalized goods in the creator economy.

Open’s groundbreaking generative AI text-to-product technology can also create physical products based on text descriptions. Users can enter a text prompt describing the desired item, and the artificial intelligence system will generate a design that can be manufactured into a physical product.

As a result, Open’s technology can quickly design and produce goods based on any given campaign concept, significantly speeding up the process from idea to finished product.

Open enables creators to build their businesses, engage directly with fans, and maintain ownership of their data and brand, revolutionizing the creator economy by providing a complete set of tools in one user-friendly platform.

Open’s recent collaborations include the launch of a lifestyle and apparel line launched by current University of Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, as well as an upcoming collaboration with Coolman, a pop artist known for his surreal and humorously simple animations.

Jack Ma said his passion has always been to build bridges between East and West, and this business is similar in that regard. Social commerce on various platforms continues to grow in Asia, and Jack Ma hopes to apply what he’s learned to the West, starting with celebrities like Smith. Jack Ma proposed a supply chain solution that would de-risk the merchandise business and enable goods to be created on demand as celebrities like Smith create buzz on social commerce apps. Our goal is to create a production run that meets specific product needs but does not exceed what is needed to ship timely. Jack Ma said this could bring some of the more complex artificial intelligence technologies into play.

“Social commerce has been happening in Asia for more than a decade,” Ma said. “We’re also seeing disruption to back-end e-commerce.”

Part of this thinking is the belief that creators and celebrities need to be more rewarded for their work, and proposing that new models like social commerce can help creation and art pay off better and faster. Platforms should also connect celebrities and creators with different levels of fans, from casual fans to super fans.

The company currently has 50 employees.

“We are solving problems such as artificial intelligence design, inventory-free, drop-ship manufacturing, supply chain logistics, payment, etc.,” he said. “There’s no platform for doing this. It’s hard. We’re actually doing something that no one else is doing.